Religious Vaccine Exemptions on the Rise Among Parents
As summer fades and children return to school, a significant trend is emerging: more and more parents are choosing to bypass government-imposed vaccine mandates for their children by using non-medical religious exemptions.
According to the local non-profit media outlet Maryland Matters, new data indicates a rise in the number of parents opting their children out of vaccination requirements through non-medical religious exemption. This trend has escalated in the wake of strict requirements imposed by the government during the Covid era.
Insights from Maryland Matters
Maryland Matters reports that the number of exemptions typically only amounts to one or two percent of an incoming kindergarten class, or a few hundred children per year. However, since 2002, over 10,000 kindergartners have attended public and private schools without vaccination records, as per data from the Maryland Department of Health.
Daniel Salmon, a professor and director of the Institute for Vaccine Safety at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, suggests that the increasing rate of religious exemptions may be indicative of a growing vaccine hesitancy among families.
Understanding Vaccine Hesitancy
Maryland law mandates that children receive several vaccines before they enter kindergarten to protect them and their classmates from transmissible diseases, such as polio, measles, and chickenpox. However, an analysis of Maryland health data suggests that parents are becoming more aware of potential concerns surrounding increasing government-mandated vaccinations for their children.
Here's a simple breakdown of the increasing vaccine hesitancy among Maryland parents:
- In the 2002-2003 school year, 0.2% of kindergartners had a religious exemption, or about 126 kids out of roughly 63,000.
- Ten years later, about 0.6% of kids had religious exemptions, meaning about 419 kids did not receive vaccinations in 2012-2013.
- The rate spiked in 2019-2020 when 2.7% of kindergartners, or 1,641 kids, opted out of vaccination requirements.
National Trends and Notable Commentary
The increasing vaccine schedule for children over the past three decades may be contributing to vaccine hesitancy among millennial parents. Axios provided a nationwide breakdown of where parents have most frequently used non-medical exemptions for their children.
In mid-July, former President Donald Trump criticized the number of childhood vaccines in a video with Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Increasing Trend of Vaccine Exemptions
The prevailing trend suggests that an increasing number of parents are opting their children out of government-mandated vaccines. This development prompts questions about the reasons behind this shift and whether there might be some validity to Trump's criticisms.
Bottom Line
The rising trend of parents utilizing religious exemptions to bypass vaccination requirements for their children is a significant development. It raises questions about the balance between public health and individual choice, and the role of government in enforcing health mandates. What are your thoughts on this issue? Please share this article with your friends and join the conversation. Don't forget to sign up for the Daily Briefing, which is delivered every day at 6pm.
Religious Vaccine Exemptions on the Rise Among Parents
As summer fades and children return to school, a significant trend is emerging: more and more parents are choosing to bypass government-imposed vaccine mandates for their children by using non-medical religious exemptions.
According to the local non-profit media outlet Maryland Matters, new data indicates a rise in the number of parents opting their children out of vaccination requirements through non-medical religious exemption. This trend has escalated in the wake of strict requirements imposed by the government during the Covid era.
